The War for the Remnant
by The SteelNerfer
Summary: Countless millennia ago, humanity and faunus broke free from the enslavement of the Precursors on Remnant. When they took their freedom, they discovered the reason the Precursors were there: a material called "Dust." Two orders emerged: The Templar Order, which sought to use the Dust to rule the world, and the Assassin Brotherhood, which sought to keep humans and faunus free.
1. The War Reignited

Countless millennia ago, humanity and faunus broke free from the enslavement of the Precursor race on Remnant. When they took their freedom, they discovered the reason the Precursors were there: a material called "Dust." Two orders emerged: The Templar Order, which sought to use the Dust to rule the world, and the Assassin Brotherhood, which sought to keep humans and faunus free from enslavement. However, in the recent years, and the rise of the White Fang, both sides made a truce to halt the war, to stop the organization from gaining more power. However, as the White Fang's chapter comes to a close, the Templar have purged the kingdoms of Assassin influence, and now use the White Fang and the kingdoms to play a twisted game of chess. However, all is not lost. For the Templar forgot about one Assassin (how they missed him, I have no idea), who will ignite the eternal war once again and free the people from the grasp of the Templar.

 _Two years before the events of RWBY, Season 1, Episode 1_

The elevator stopped with a sort of jerk. The doors opened, and I entered the large room. It had gears, arranged in such a way that it looked like clockwork. The entire room was painted in an olive greenish color, and there was a man with white hair and spectacles on, sitting at the desk. Behind him was a large window, looking out over the Kingdom of Vale. I walked up to the desk and sat down.

"Hello again, Gideon." The man said, pouring me a cup of tea.

"G'day to you, Ozzy." I took my hood off, letting the longish, unkempt brown hair of mine breath. I adjusted the grey hoodie to make it more comfortable, and picked up the cup. I took a sip, put the cup back down, and let out a sigh.

"I guess that you have bad news today?" Ozpin said, pouring himself a cup.

"They've bloody done it, mate. They've taken over not only the governments, but the White Fang too." I slammed one of my fists, both of which had black fingerless gloves for some amount of protection, on the desk. I wasn't happy.

"I know. It is unfortunate."

"Unfortunate!? Mate, they've got the 'hole bloody world in their hand, and you're just brushin' it off as 'unfortunate'!?"

"There is nothing I can do to help with this, especially since the Brotherhood was destroyed."

"You mean, nearly destroyed. I'm still livin'." I sat back down, not realizing that I had stood up during my shouting.

"I'm sorry, there's nothing I can legally do." He said, standing up and walking to the window.

" _Legally_ is the keyword there, mate." I said, waving a finger.

"Are you suggesting that I break the law?" He asked.

"Just some 'munition here and there, mate. To keep your old pal goin'."

"I will see what I can do, for a friend." He smiled.

"Thanks, mate." I stood up and, pulling my hood up, walked back to the elevator.

 _Years later . . ._

I ran across the rooftops, through the city, the tails of my grey robes flying behind me. I jumped down onto a truck, landing without a sound. I chuckled to myself as I crept to the back, silent as the wind. I drew a revolver and shot one of the locks off with one of the six dust-infused bullets. I jumped in to see containers of Dust.

"Knew it." I said, spinning around on a heel and aiming my gauntlet-mounted grapple hook at a rooftop. I fired it, hitting my mark. I sidestepped and shot the other end into the truck, and braced myself as it jerked to a sudden stop, the front windshield shattering as the driver flew out. I put the retractor onto the wire and retracted the grapple hook into the gauntlet. Jumping out, I sprinted to the cabin and climbed in, turning around to return the stolen Dust to the shop it was stolen from. For a while, I thought I was in the clear. How wrong I was. The truck suddenly sped forward, and I slammed it to a stop. Kicking open the door, I saw the cargo trailer a few hundred feet behind me, with White Fang agents inspecting it.

"Hey, you blokes didn't forget 'bout me, did ja?" I remarked, running towards the nearest one and grabbing the barrel of his gun. I slammed the butt of the gun into his face, knocking him to the ground. I flipped the gun around in my hand and shot the other two guys. I heard sirens closing in.

"Sorry, mates, but I gotta go now." I used the grapple hook to ascend a building, just before the police, or whatever they're called, showed up. They quickly arrested the Fangs that were still alive, and inspected the truck. I chuckled as I grappled away to the poorer part of the city. It wasn't in ruin or anything, not that poor, just not as shiny as the downtown. That, and a lot more drunks roaming about. I got down and went into my tavern, the Dusty Drink. I closed it before I left, so I made sure everything was in order before flipping the sign around. Not a half hour later, it was nearly full with workers, usual drunks, etc. After ten, I closed it down, chased the stubborn ones out, and flipped on the tv in my upstairs apartment.

"Today, the Schnee dust company was robbed. After receiving reports of gunfire in downtown, police were able to apprehend the perpetrators. They were members of the White Fang. Two were found dead at the scene, shot dead, and one was knocked out, with a mark on his face. Eyewitnesses say that a man, seemingly no older than 19, and wearing a grey robes with a gauntlet on his left arm, stopped the truck and killed two of the White Fang members. More at 11." I chuckled as I locked the stache where I kept my gear and robes. The people knew I existed, and that's getting me one step closer to bringing the Brotherhood back.

"Arg!" I yelled, collapsing to the floor, clutching my heart. "Guess I'm still not as used to it as I'd like to be." I said, getting onto the bed and lying there. Of course, keeping hidden from the Templar came at the cost of my Aura and most of my Soul. So, I can't take many hits, and no abilities besides Eagle Vision, a type of vision that I can use to find people and items of interest through walls. Though, mine is now far less effective, since it's linked to one's aura. Of course, I can still use it, since it's in my DNA, but only at a very short range compared to most Assassins and Templar. It works by detecting one's aura, and showing me the outline of the protective barrier that the aura creates. Since mine's gone, I can't be detected by it. That's how the Templar found the Assassins one by one, the others refused to give up their auras. They were ignorant,holding onto the idea that the Templar were honorable, instead of facing the truth. So now I walk alone, the only warrior one one side of an eternal war.

Eventually, I slipped away into my sleep, letting myself rest after another day of fighting the good fight. I won't stop until those Templar bastards give up their quest for power.


	2. The Illusion of Peace

Peace. It's what every kingdom works to achieve. An eternal peace. It'll never happen. For, in the shadows, behind closed and locked doors, the Templar and Assassins have been fighting an eternal war. Even while people are able to go throughout their days without conflict, people like me fight to ensure their freedoms. As the White Fang chapter, as the Templar calls it, comes to a close, as the illusion of peace settles in, I have reignited the eternal flame of war between the Brotherhood and the Templar, fighting to keep the people of this world free.

I leaned against the wall, waiting for my target to come by. His name is Torchwick, a real jackass. Red hair, bowler hat, white jacket, and a gun cane. He was always smoking a cigar. He also wore a necklace with the templar cross on it, under his clothes. He and his gang of Fangs were passing through, stirring up trouble as usual. Little did they know that I was gonna be their trouble. I heard a familiar voice around the corner, and dashed into an alley.

"Now, make sure that everything goes to plan. I don't want that Assassin getting in our way again." He said.

"Well, kinda hard to stay out of it, mate." I stepped out, ten feet in front of them. "Considering' that you got all these blokes with ya, and that douchebag voice of yours, you're hard to miss."

"Ah, Assassin. I see that you're looking fine. Tell me, what is your secret?"

"It's called a secret for a reason, mate." I drew a gun and spun the cylinder. "Now, we gonna fight?"

"On the contrary, I'd like to see how one of my friends fairs against you. Neo!" A girl, younger than me, with pink and black hair, stepped out from behind him. Torch pointed at me. "Kill him." She took a pink umbrella and pointed it at me. I looked down at my gun, then at her.

"Really, mate?" I fired, and the bullet snapped the 'brella in half. They both looked shocked. "Well what did'ja expect? I had my gun aimed at you, and you had a 'brella."

"Men, get him!" Two of the fangs charged at me. I splayed my fingers, letting my hidden blade spring out, and slashed through both of their necks. They were dead before they hit the ground. I drew my second gun and shot the two that had their sights on me, before putting the guns back in their holsters.

"Now listen here, wankas. Tell Cindy and the rest of your friends that the Brotherhood's back, and no one's puttin' us in the ground." I turned and aimed my grapple hook at a roof. As I heard them run, I pulled myself up and went to the tavern. I put my gear and robes away and flipped the sign. Once again, people quickly flooded the place. This time, however, I was waiting for someone. He walked in, his crimson cape flowing behind him. He sat at the bar.

"I'll have a glass of the usual." He said, putting down a few bills. I took them.

"Right up, mate." I poured a glass of the stuff and set it before him. He sipped it.

"So, how's the place going, Gideon?" He asked, setting the glass down.

"It's goin' fine, mate. But, that ain't why you're here, is it, Crow?" I took a rag and wiped off a few spots on the bar. He smiled.

"You're smarter than you seem. Half past ten. Upstairs." I nodded. At ten, I closed down the bar and cleaned up, and at ten thirty, I went upstairs to the living room. Crow was already sitting (more like sprawling) on the couch.

"So, what is it, mate?" I leaned on the doorframe.

"Both of my nieces are in Beacon."

"And this has to do with me, how?"

"They're good kids, willing to help you if you need it later on."

"Thanks, mate, but this line of work ain't for kids. This fight is for me, and me alone."

"Well, you dragged Ozpin and the rest of us in, I don't really see what the problem is."

"You knew what ya were gettin' yourselves into. They have no idea about this war." I sighed. "I appreciate it, but I can't take on an apprentice, not now."

"In that case, I'll be leaving." He got up and left, going to wherever he goes. I laid on the couch and sighed.

"You don't know half of the toll the fight's taken on me, mate." I muttered. War takes a toll on it's soldiers In the same way, this eternal war has taken a toll on me. I'm not who I was even half a decade ago. I lost my aura, so I forced myself to become the most efficient killer. If I could talk about the things I've learned without bringing up the age rating, I would tell. Fortunately, I can't. It's horrible, what I've done. But those actions, those evils, I make them so others don't have to. So others can fight the right way, while I work behind the scenes, doing what Assassins need to do to keep people free. If I could, I would take up a life as a huntsman, or anything else, really, to escape this life if I could. But, then someone else would be fighting this war, and I couldn't live with myself if I did that to someone, who had a whole future ahead of them. So, I fight on, so others don't have to.


	3. The Old Dog

The Great War was fought by every kingdom, back when the Templar and Assassins had a more, public presence. They wished to have a dystopian peace, with our freedoms taken away. We wished for a peace with freedom. Our ideologies clashed, and what started with two ancient orders fighting, turned into the most destructive war imaginable. Since then, both Assassins and Templar have agreed to not instigate anything that would escalate to something that magnitude again. We also agreed to move into the shadows and fight our war secretly. The ones that survived the war were called the Old Dogs, as they often fought on the front lines. My grandfather was one of those dogs.

We watched as the balloons rose into the air. It was a majestic scene. I had only seen them once before, when I was too young to remember, and before my little sis was born.

"Gideon?" I felt a light, gentle tug at my shirt. I turned and looked at my little sis, who was two years younger than me.

"Yeah, Pyrrha?" I asked her.

"Can we go back now? It's getting dark."

"Alright, sis. If ya say so." I turned and walked back to the shack that we called home, with Pyrrha behind me. I lifted her into the second floor, before jumping up myself. I looked out the window, towards Beacon academy. She got on a box and looked out it too.

"When I grow up, I'm gonna go there." She pointed to Beacon.

"Really now?" I joked.

"Yeah, and I'm gonna be the best huntress ever!"

"Whatever you say, kid." I smiled and leaned against the wall.

 _Years later . . ._

I wiped a few spots off the bar. I had just closed down the Dusty Drink for the day. After cleaning, I went upstairs to the living room and switched on the tv.

"The famed student Pyrrha Nikos has once again saved the day." I smiled at this.

"Oi sis, you're gettin' better than your bro at this point." The rest of the news report was about how she killed one of the creatures of Grimm that threatened a few civilians. I turned the tv off and went to my room, opening a closet to reveal my other uniform, besides the bartender one. I put on the blue robes and brown leathers, and the black gauntlet that housed my hidden blade. I pulled the beaked hood up and opened the roof hatch.

 _Present day . . ._

I jumped down, landing and sinking my blade into the neck of the Fang member. I had closed down the tavern for a week, to investigate a lead on the White Fang's HQ in Mountain Glenn, where I was now. If you somehow don't know, Mountain Glenn was a part of town that was overrun by Grimm. It was some sort of Templar experiment. Now, it was just ruined buildings. I pulled the blade out of the guy's neck, letting the blood spill to the ground. I heard footsteps, and quickly grappled to the top of a building. A dog, and one of Crow's nieces walked out. She wore a red hood, and black dress. I followed her down the street. Suddenly, the ground cracked beneath her, and she fell down. I jumped and looked down. The dog ran off as I did so. It was a long drop, maybe two hundred feet or so. Oh, wait, based on the echo of her scream, I'd say it's quite a bit further. So, not good. I kneeled by the edge of the hole.

"Ah, screw it." I fired the grapple hook into the edge of the hole and jumped down, the grapple slowing my descent. I silently landed and snuck to the edge of the platform I landed on. There were maybe fifty to a hundred fangs, patrolling about, loading train cars, the sort of thing you'd see in a villain's underground base. I aimed and fired the grapple hook to the roof of a lower building, and fired another end into the edge of the platform I was on. I jumped down and used the zip-line to slide down. I landed and retracted the line, making sure no one heard or saw me. I walked to the edge. The girl that fell down was being dragged to a train car.

"Hey boss," one of the fangs carrying her started, "Found something you might want to see!"

"Is it good or bad Harry, because let me tell ya, I have had a day!" A voice from the car said. I knew who it was.

"Uh, it's a little girl?" the fang said. Torjerk stepped out of the car.

"That would be bad." He said, throwing his cigar onto the ground.

"Hey there, douchebag!" I yelled, zipping my way down, behind Torchwick. He spun around to face me.

"Oh, it's you again. You know, you are _really_ starting to get on my nerves." He started pacing.

"What I do best, mate." I looked around. "So, how do you want to do this?"

"I'd say you let me kill this girl, then let me kill you." I chuckled, pacing in the opposite direction of him, so we were circling each other.

"Sorry, mate. Ya know I can't just let someone die on me, right?"

"I guess I'll just have to kill you first, then. You know, you always were more bite than bark, like an old dog. Shame you can't learn any new tricks."

"Guess it runs in the blood, mate." I drew a gun. "And this Old Dog's definitely learned some new tricks."


	4. The Lie of Pacifism

Pacifism. It's a complete lie. You can never just lay down your weapons, and expect everyone else to do the same. Take the White Fangs for instance. If I were to just lie down my weapons, and say that everyone should just sing kumbuya, they'd freakin' gun me down where I stood. Sometimes, you can win by showing mercy, but it's rare when that happens. Far more often than not, you have to fight, and inevitably kill, for what's right. It's a hard thing to do, yes. But, as you fight, it gets easier, and you can keep standing up for the people, so that they don't have to sacrifice their morals like you have done to keep them safe.

The rhythmic sound of gunfire rang throughout the cavern, stopping only for me to quickly reload the guns, then resuming again, blasting away. The girl that Torch called 'Neo' was in front of him, her 'brella open, deflecting the bullets I fired. Of course, I tried to get better angels, shoot at the feet (I'm not a henchman), but she managed to block every bullet.

"Guess you upgraded, huh mate?" I reloaded the guns one last time and holstered them, getting into a proper fighting stance. She smiled and did a little twirl, pointing the 'brella at me as she finished it. I shot the grapple hook into the train car, the line going right past her legs, and used it to trip her. I retracted the line as she fell with a thud. "Nice try. Now, any other blokes wanna try me?" I raised my hands in the air, very obviously saying 'come at me, bro.' No one stepped forward. "In that case, I'll be stopping this train, permanently." I turned to go to the engine, but was stopped by the click of Torch's cane.

"Not so fast, Assassin. I'm afraid I can't let you do that. For my sake." He and two fangs walked in front of me, guns raised. I raised my hands.

"Ah, c'mon, mate. You know how this goes down." My eyes quickly flashed blue as I looked at the train cars.

"Sorry. She's really adamant about making sure this gets to its location, for some reason." He took a few steps closer to me, as my eyes flashed blue again. I got what I needed.

"Well, mate, I can't exactly let ya leave with all that stuff on the train." I looked back at him.

"In that case, I think it's time I end this little game of ours." He put the tip of the gun on my forehead.

"You blokes never learn, do ya?" I grabbed the cane and broke his nose with it. As he recoiled, the two fangs took aim. I jumped back, drawing my guns, and put a hole between each of their eyes. I holstered the guns as I landed. I spun on a heel to catch a punch directed at me, throwing the fang against the train. The fang holding the girl ran off, letting the girl stand up.

"Who are you?" She asked.

"The name's Gideon, Gidon Nikos. And you're?" I extended an offer to shake hands.

"Ruby Rose." She accepted the offer. "Wait, Gideon Nikos? Like Pyrrha Nikos?"

"Yes, but let's talk 'bout that later. Now, we-" The train started to pull away. "We've got a train to catch."

"Ruby!" I heard a voice from down the cave yell. Three girls and a man were running towards us. The one with blonde hair threw Ruby a weapon.

"Thanks Yang." She spun it around, and it extended into some sort of scythe.

"Who are you?" Yang, I assume, said pointing at me.

"Gideon Nikos, now if you excuse me mate, I gotta train to catch." Without looking, I fired the grapple hook at the roof of the train and whisked myself up. I retracted it before running across the tops of the cars. As I jumped over the third or fourth gap, a few fangs climbed on top, weapons ready. "C'mon, mates, let's go!" I stopped and raised my fists. Two charged me, and I easily kicked them off with one swoop. Another jumped, and I just pushed him off. I continued running, past the last two on that car. I ran past more fangs, knocked them off, before falling through a hatch. I somehow managed to land on my feet.

"Not my best move." I looked around the car. It was filled with boxes. I let my eyes flash blue (representing me using eagle vision) and searched the boxes. A glowing smg caught my eye. My eyes flashed blue as I walked over to it. I took out a few hairpins and picked the lock, opening the box. It's an orange and white smg, thumbhole stock, slightly curved banana mag, and two mounting rails for sights. "Pretty." I picked it up and shouldered it. There was a curved foregrip built into the gun, just in front of the grip was just behind the mag. I turned it around in my hands before removing the magazine. Standard military rounds. I put it back and looked in the box. There was a bandolier sling, as well as several mags to go in it. I put the spare mags in the bandolier, hooked it to the gun, and slung it across my back. I heard someone land behind me.

"Looks good on you." I spun around.

"Yang, I presume?" I offered a handshake, which she accepted.

"Yep. You're Gideon, right? Gideon Nikos?"

"Aye. Now, you gonna help or what, mate?" I turned and started walking to the door facing the front of the train.

"No, I came down here just to say hi. Hey, Blake, Weiss!" She yelled towards the opening in the top. The black-haired and white-haired girls from the quartet jumped down.

"Great, now the whole gang's here." I kicked open the door, and shot the lock off of the next one before jumping through it. After jumping over the gap between cars, I looked up to see a familiar face. "Oh hey, you're on your feet again." She smiled and began pacing. I chuckled, drawing a gun.

"What the?" Yang said as she walked up beside me.

"You wanna handle this, mate?" I offered.

"Sure. Should be a piece of cake." She cracked her knuckles and stepped forward.

"In that case, I'll be off." I jumped onto the wall and used it to run to the door. I kicked it open, and jump-kicked through the one after it. I heard the other two girls jump after me. In that car, was a fang with a giant chainsword.

"I'll get this. You go ahead, Blake." I assume Weiss said.

"Alright." I jumped over the guy, before kicking down the opposite door. I jumped over the gap, through the next door. Before I even stood, I heard a click.

"Well, we were bound to meet up eventually."

"G'day to you too, Torch." I stood up, raising my hands. A heavy door closed behind me, blocking Blake off.

"Now hopefully, we can actually talk this time." He said, lowering the cane. I chuckled, letting my hands drop to the side.


	5. The Cry of Freedom

Many millennia ago, Remnant was ruled by the Precursor Race, an ancient race that was here to harvest the Dust on the planet. Needing a workforce to mine and move the Dust, they created Humans and Faunus. Humans were created to be a more all-around worker, able to work under most conditions, while Faunus were created to be more specialized, working in more hazardous conditions, where they were able to perform tasks that humans couldn't. Eventually, Precursors and Humans/Faunus interbred, creating hybrid beings, with both their parent races' DNA. That's how only the Assassins and Templar, and a few others, are able to use abilities such as Eagle Vision. These hybrids saw the mistreatment of the Humans and Faunus and came together to form the Brotherhood of Assassins. For centuries, the oppressed people cried for freedom. The Assassins heard it, and began to work to free them. First they used diplomacy, showing the benefits of giving Humans and Faunus better treatment. However, the Precursors killed the diplomats we sent, so we went to war. After a long, hard fight, we won. We found that they controlled us using four relics. These were hidden throughout the land, and a new brotherhood was founded, to protect these relics.

"Well, how's it goin', mate?" I asked, smiling. He sighed.

"Worse than I'd like, Gideon. I'm half sure that Cinder knows about what I'm doing, seeing as she won't tell me anything about the plan beyond what's dead in front of us." He began pacing back and forth.

"Thought you Templars were good at hidin' your intents?" I chuckled.

"We're supposed to be, yes. Though I do believe Cinder is smarter than we thought. Also, speaking of secrecy, what about you telling people your name freely? Doesn't that go against your 'creed'?"

"Mate, I'm the last Assassin, I doubt the creed matters much when you're the last one standin', and the enemy knows who you and your family are." I sat on a crate near the door I  
jumped through.  
"You know, if you joined us, we cou-"

"Nah, mate. I ain't one for takin' away people's freedoms, you know that. And remember, the Templar killed the Assassins, so there's also some personal stuff mixed in too."

"Always about freedom. People can't govern themselves. They must be put into line."

"And they see that. How do you think the kingdoms function without the people's cooperation? They will learn, humans and faunus." I heard banging on the heavy door.

"Well, I have my orders. He walked to the center of the aisle. I stood up and walked in front of him.

"See ya 'round, mate." I quickly punched him in the face, knocking him out. The door broke down behind me. I spun on a heel. "Well, took ya blokes long enough."

"Well it's not like you've taken on a guy with a giant chainsaw sword." Weiss said.

"You'd be surprised, mate." I turned and walked to the closed door on the other side of the car.

"What, are you going to kick that door down too?" Blake joked. I reached in my pocket.

"Nah, mate, I was thinkin' of punchin' it." I drew my hand out and punched the door open, the brass knuckles flashing in the light of the car. I instantly drew my hand back in regret. "Geez, that hurt." I shook the pain off.

"How did you think that would work, exactly?" Weiss asked.

"Honestly, I'm surprised the door opened at all." I took a few steps back and ran at the opposite door. I jumped, my feet facing the door, and broke it down. I landed with a roll, drawing my guns as I stopped, and fired off just enough shots to take out the fangs in the car. I holstered the guns and ran to the controls, seeing if there was a way to stop the train.

"You know how to stop this?" Blake ran up beside me.

"Nope, shit."

"What was your plan exactly?"

"Hey, I'm a fighter, not a strategist." I read over the labels. "This one?" I pressed the button, and the train slowed, barely. My finger kept tapping, maybe a dozen times. I looked up. "Oh shit!" A wall was approaching. Fast. Clearly, this wasn't working.

"How do we stop this?!" Weiss yelled, seeing the wall.

"You two figure that out, I'll check on blondie back there." I turned and ran through the open doors, back about three cars. She was lying, out cold. Neo was gone. My eyes flashed blue. There was a trace of, somethin' there. Need to ask Ozzy 'bout that. My eyes flashed again and I knelt down by the girl. She took a beating. A few bruises on her arms and face, maybe a cut, but she'll be fine. Her eyes started to flutter open.

"You good, mate?" She looked up at me.

"Yeah, I'll be fine." As she sat up, I stood.

"Good, 'cause we gotta get outta here." I offered her a hand, and she took it, pulling herself up.

"Why, what's wrong?"

"A wall's chargin' at us, fast." I turned and ran back to the engine car, and Blondie followed. "So, any luck?"

"Nothing, it won't slow down." Weiss said. I looked at my black hardened leather gauntlet.

"I got an idea. One of ya blokes, cover me." I ran to the door of the car and used the grapple hook to jump to the top. I fired one end into the engine car, and aimed the other at the ceiling. I saw flashes ahead, and ducked as bullets whizzed over my head. I drew a gun and fired the last three shots from it, before swiping it across the belt, which held my ammo, reloading it, and I continued firing. After firing the six shots, I reloaded and holstered it, as I was getting low. I heard two shotgun shells go off, and Yang flew up. She began firing at the fangs.

"Whatever you're planning, do it already!" She yelled. I nodded, aimed at the ceiling, and fired.

"Down, now!" I yelled, jumping into the engine car. I heard her follow, and the train jerked slower. "Hold onta somethin'!" I grabbed a handrail. The girls braced themselves, as the wall approached. I heard the metal slam into the concrete door, before my body decided to take a nap, without my permission.


	6. The Deception of Lies

Lying is what the Assassins and Templar call a "necessary evil." It is needed to prevent chaos from taking place and unraveling all that we have built. If everyone knows the truth, then chaos is bound to ensue, since people will ask questions that we don't have the answers for. Why do you think Mistral covered up Kuroyuri? They didn't want people to freak out, think their kingdom was vulnerable. Same thing with Mountain Glenn. Made it seem like it wasn't as big of a deal as it really was. I won't lie, some amount of truth is needed to keep the people's trust, but you can't go exposing every little secret out there. And you can't just spout bullshit to the people. Both will cause chaos, and that's something both Assassins and Templar fight against. Governments cover things up to keep chaos from taking root, and to keep people believing the people that protect them.

I groaned, holding my head. Damn, did it hurt. I tried to stand up, but something was pinning me down.

"God damn it." I muttered, pushing myself, and the girder on top of me, up. As soon as I was up enough, I kicked my legs forward, in a circular move to my right, so my body was out from under the girder. It landed with a loud clunk. Alarms were blarin'. I stood and looked around. Rubble everywhere. Ruby and the other girls were lookin' 'round. I started walkin' towards them. "You good mate?" I asked Ruby. She turned and faced me.

"Yeah, I'll be fine." She stood up and faced the crowd. I felt a warm liquid run down my neck. I took out a white gauze from a pouch on my belt and held it to the wound. It was just below my ear, luckily not deep enough to hurt anything important. By some miracle, my hood had stayed up through all of that. I grimaced as the pain started to set in.

"You ok?" Yang said, standing up behind me.

"Yeah, I'll make it. Just a flesh wound." I looked behind us and chuckled. "Well fuck." As I said that, who-knows-how many grimm climbed out of the rubble. "Double fuck." I quickly put a small strip of what I called sticky-bandage onto the gauze, to hold it there. The four girls drew and readied their weapons. I grabbed the smg from behind my back and primed it. The ground rumbled as the giant black snake that was behind us rose, letting out a terrible hiss. I shouldered the bright white, black, and orange gun and took aim at the beast. I squeezed the trigger. Three flashes of white followed, as well as three loud bangs, and the gun kicking back, well you get the idea. The three glowing white bullets slammed into the creature's head, making three holes, one where its eye should have been. It let out another hiss, and the other grimm attacked.

"Now!" Ruby yelled, and the girls jumped into action. I raised my left arm and fired the grapple hook at the snake's head, hoisting myself up on top of the thing. I unloaded the rest of the mag into the creature's head, and it let out another hiss. I looked to see Yang seemingly using her gauntlets, which had built-in shotguns, apparently (because why not have hidden shotguns, what could go wrong) they had enough kick to send her flying. No idea how she stood on the train firing those things, though. She punched and shot her way through the smaller beasts. Ruby slashed with her scythe, and fired the integrated gun to keep the grimm away from the others. Weiss used what seemed like magic (I would later learn that it was just Dust) to throw fireballs at the grimm, and use ice walls to send them flying. Blake fired her pistol, which had a sword blade sticking out of the top (remind me, how does any of this work?) which she used to slice and stab, and a ribbon on the grip of the gun she used to tie the beasts up. The snake started moving, slowly.

"Well shit." It took off, down the street. I was thrown off. I flipped and landed my feet on a building, using the grapple hook to help me run along, keeping up with the beast. It rammed straight into a building, and I jumped back onto it, retracting the line as far as I could. I drew a revolver put it to it's head, and pulled the trigger. The beast fell, and I jumped off, landing on my feet. It disappeared soon after. An airship flew overhead, towards where the hole in the ground was. "Well, 'bout fuckin' time." I ran back to the main fight, and saw three new faces. And my sis. I drew my guns and emptied them into the beasts, before reloading and holstering them. Pyrrha was fending off several monsters by herself, and the redhead and black-haired guy were holding off some as well. There was one, a blonde-haired guy, though he was clearly not trained properly, he held out fine. I grabbed and reloaded the smg, before kneeling down, switching it to semi-auto, and sniping at the grimm. After I unloaded the mag, a grimm charged me. I let go of the gun and grappled away, landing near Pyrrha.

"What are you doing here, Gideon?" She asked, as I raised my fists.

"Tried to stop a train. You, sis?"

"I'm a huntress, this is my job."

"Great reunion, mate." I muttered, drawing my revolvers and blasting away at a few grimm that decided to charge, while Pyrrha got the ones that managed to get through. As the fight continued, I heard something overhead. I looked up, and there were several airships, with one massive one in the center.

"Right, now I take my leave." I dropped a small piece of paper before grappling away, rushin' back to the tavern. I jumped back into my room from a roof hatch, and took off my gear and robes, setting them in the closet. I swore at myself. "Fuckin' 'ell." I walked down to the bar and opened shop.


	7. The Final Order

I sat at the bar, the earlier hours' events still fresh in my mind. I thought about who was pulling the strings. No shit it was Cinder, but she can't be the end-all be-all mastermind behind this, could she? No, no human would have that much influence. At least, she wouldn't. So, who is?

"Maybe her, maybe." I thought of that bugger Salem, an old enemy of both Templar and Assassin. "Eh, fuckit. She'll reveal herself eventually." I pulled out my Scroll and went to the messages, to the last one from the old Grandmaster. I hit play.

"This is a message to all remaining Assassins. The Templar betrayed us. I'm holding out here, but I'm not sure I can last much longer with the men here. This is my final order, go into hiding. Do not give yourselves up to them, ignore the creed, for to follow it would mean to sacrifice the Brotherhood. Do whatever it takes to survive, just deny the enemy their victory! We work in the dark to serve the light. We are Assassins." It was followed by a door breaking down, then gunfire, before ending.

"Damnit, Mentor." I swore. The order to ditch the creed, that I could somewhat follow. Of course I killed Templar that tried to kill innocents to get me to give up, but a the same time, I needed to work with them, if Cinder was to be stopped. Jaysus, I'm a hypocrite. I put the Scroll away and leaned against the bar, looking up. Nothing to do for a while, until Cindy made her next move. The door opened, and I sat up.

"You wanted to see me, Gideon?" It's Pyrrha.

"Aye, you know somethin' bigger's goin' on."

"No kidding. I guess you still don't know who's behind all of this?"

"Yeah, sis." I sighed, and leaned against the bar as she walked over. "This's worse than the betrayal." I looked at her. "You sure you don't want to do your duty?"

"I told you, I don't want to fight other humans that seek the same thing as I do: Peace on Remnant, no matter what the means."

"Then, I'll have to ask the Schnee mate ya know. Or maybe Xiao Long. Or Rose. They seem like good candidates."

"What about Blake? She seems like a much better fighter and person."

"She's hidin' somethin'. While I may sound like a fuckin' hypocrite, I can't trust someone that secretive."

"You're right, you do sound like a hypocrite." We both laughed at that.

"So, I guess life's goin' well." I said after a few moments of silence. "'Specially with that Jaunny boy?"

"Wh-what do you mean?" She blushed, and I laughed quite hard.

"Oh, fuck's sake. Ya know, the Jaune guy you keep writin' 'bout. Plainly obvious ya like 'im." I let out one last chuckle. "Well, whatev' makes ya happy, I guess." I stood up. "Arg!" And fell down, clutching my side.

"Gideon!" Pyrrha rushed over, kneeling beside me. She helped me back onto the stool.

"Ah, fuck. Hoped it've passed by now." I leaned on the bar.

"Clearly not." She said, holding my arm, a worried expression on her face. "I still don't understand, why did you get rid of your Aura?"

"To keep hidden. I'd be found quite quickly if I had it." I took my hand away as the pain went away.

"Then why chose this life? Why put yourself through this?" Tears started running down her face.

"'Cause no one else will. You won't, I doubt team RWBY will, either. Someone's gotta do it, might's well be me." I put my arm around her. "C'mere." I brought her in for a hug. We held each other for a few seconds, before we let go.

"I should get going now. I don't want my team to get worried." I nodded.

"Go, sis. I'll live." She left, closing the door behind her. I went up to my room, and lay down on the bed. I fell asleep, my body tired from the long day.

 _The next day . . ._

I sat in the bar, the TV showing a fight from the Vytal festival. I didn't partake in any part of it. Ain't my style. Only the tournament interested me. Part is the entertainment, other part is to see if any of the blokes would make good Assassin candidates. Last torny, no one caught my eye. Hopefully this one would be better. As I watched, the door opened.

"G'day, Torch." I didn't need to look to see who it was.

"Hello again, Gideon. I hope I'm not interrupting anything. I have some news that you might want to hear." I turned to him.

"Aye mate, spit it out." He walked in and sat at the bar, closing the door behind him.

"Cinder's planning the attack on the last day of the tournament. Blowing holes in the wall, dropping off Grimm in airships, and hacking the Atlas ships that just arrived. It's bigger than anything I could've imagined."

"Fuckin' shit, mate. We're throughly fucked."

"Not necessarily." He pulled out his scroll and showed me a message. "A group of Schnee faction Templar just defected, and are joining me."

"When?"

"Today. We'll be stationed around Beacon, and will be ready to defend when the battle begins."

"How'd you manage to do that?"

"Turns out a good speech does wonders to get people on your side."

"Plus fuckin' ten to charisma, mate." I chuckled before handing him a drink. He downed it quite quickly.

"Right, now I should be going. Don't want to keep my new men waiting." He got up, grabbed his cane, and left. I took the glass and cleaned it, as team JNPR went up against another team, which I forget the name of.

As the fight ended, my scroll buzzed. I took it out. It was Qrow.

"Hey, Ice Queen's here. Might want to come." The message said.

"Right, be there soon." I replied. I put the scroll away and closed the tavern, before running across the rooftops to Beacon.


	8. The Calm Before the Storm

By the time I arrived at the scene, the duel had been well on it's way. Qrow and Winter were in the heat of the fight, swords clashing, guns firing, the whole thing. Very fast-paced. Expected, since they're both excellent fighters. I walked into the crowd, and did my best to blend in. The fight continued on for another minute, until Qrow put his sword away. He beckoned Winter to come at him. She charged, letting out a war cry.

"Schnee!" A voice boomed from behind her. She stopped just before Qrow and turned to face the owner of the voice.

"General Ironwood, sir!" She stood at attention.

"What in the world do you think you're doing?"

"Sir, he started the altercations, sir!"

"Actually that's not true, she attacked first." Qrow interjected.

"Is that right?" Irony asked. She looked down and to the side. "And you." he said, turning his gaze to Qrow. He walked up to him. "What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing."

"I-"

"Now, now." Ozzy said, walking up. "There is a _sanctioned_ fight happening just around the corner at the Colosseum, with better seats. And popcorn."

I stepped out of the crowd as Glynnwood spoke, and walked around the mess. I walked into the Tower, and went to Ozzy's office. There, I waited. Ironwood and the Schnee came first.

"Jimmy." I said, looking at him.

"Gideon. What are you doing here?" He asked. I could see Winter tense up.

"'Cause I'm supposed to be 'ere, unlike her." I pointed to Winter as they walked towards the desk. Seconds later, Qrow, Glynnwood, and Ozzy walked in, through the elevator doorway.

"What were you thinking?" Winter asked, glaring at Qrow. Ozzy looked at me, and I gave him a nod.

"If you were one of my men, I'd have you shot." Jimmy said.

"Mates, mates, calm the bloody 'ell down. What's Winty doin' 'ere, anyways?" Qrow and I looked at her.

"Winter, go." Jimmy said.

"But sir-"

"I'll explain later." He interrupted. A few moments of silence passed.

"Yes sir." She walked towards the elevator, glaring at Qrow, who gave a wink in response. She sharply turned in the elevator, and the doors closed. I strode up to Jimmy and grabbed his collar.

"What the bloody fuck were ya thinkin', mate? Bringin' a Schnee 'ere, with all the secrets we keep? You bring a bloody Schnee Templar in." I let go, taking a few paces backwards, glaring into Jimmy's eyes.

"If we are going to win this fight, we will need more than Roman Torchwick's faction alone. He doesn't have enough men under his command."

"He just got reinforcements. If ya'd listen to what I say, for once, ya might learn a thing or two. A bunch o' Schnee faction troops joined his, and they will defend Beacon and Vale 'till they're dead. Just like we will, right mates?" I looked around the room. Most gave a quick nod.

"I have my army, we don't need the help of a known criminal to hold them off"

"You've not seen the size of the bloody army our enemy has, they'll flatten the city in hours if left to roam 'bout. Plus, they've definitely got blokes to sneak into your ship and hack your bots."

"If that's the case," Ozzy started, "We need to have all of our huntsmen and huntresses' weapons on standby. I fear that we will be ill prepared, and we will be foolish, like the Assassins nearly two years ago."

"Aye." I said, leaning against a wall, my left leg crossing over my right. "'Ave the lockers on standby, we'll need 'em."

"Now," Qrow said, "We need to choose our new maiden, if Cinder's really behind this whole thing."

"Yes, and I know a good candidate." Ozzy said, standing.

"Askin' Pyrry?" I asked.

"Yes. She is our greatest student, and her semblance is quite remarkable." I sighed.

"I'll tell Torch 'bout our plan." I walked to the elevator and went to the ground floor. After about half an hour of flying and walking, I reached the Vale Rite's hideout. I showed my ID, and the guards let me in. Neo was waiting for me.

"G'day, Nee. Torch 'ere?" She nodded and motioned for me to follow, which I did. She lead me to a room a floor up, filled with weapons. In the center was some sort of exo-suit, with Torch standing next to it.

"Hello again, Gideon. How do you like it?" He said, pointing his cane at the exo-suit.

"It's, interestin'. What's it?"

"A strength and speed enhancement exo-suit. I thought you might need it since, well, you don't have an aura anymore, which is what gives huntsmen and huntresses their speed and strength." I approached it.

"Goes under my robes?"

"That's why I had our scientists design it to be so, minimal."

"I'll take it." Torch nodded, and two Templars picked it up. The two Templars and myself walked to a changing area, and they set it down before leaving. I removed my robes and gear, and put the suit on. After replacing my robes, I turned the suit on.


	9. Unity

There we were. The three of us, Cindy, Pyrrha, and myself, on top of the broken Beacon tower. We each had something in our hearts.

In Cindy's, darkness.

In Pyrrha's, an arrow.

In mine, a blazing fire.

 _Hours earlier_.

I stood at the edge of an outcropping at the top of a chapel, looking over the city. People were walking here and there, doing whatever they did during the festival. My scroll buzzed. I took it out of my pocket. A message from Qrow said that they'd just invited Pyrrhy into the fold. I put the scroll away, closed my eyes, and extended my arms so the hands were as far apart as they could be. Then, I took a leap of faith. As I fell towards the ground, my speed increasing, an eagle overhead let out it's cry. I opened my eyes and flipped my body, so my back was facing the hay as I landed in the cart. I jumped out, brushed off the hay, and used the grapple hook to ascend a building. Using my new speed and strength from Torch's exo-suit, I ran across the rooftops to the cliff that separated Beacon from Vale. I free climbed up the cliff face, using the grapple hook to skip tougher parts. Torch and I agreed to meet at the west landing pad, to plan the primary defense of Beacon.

I put my hand on the upper ledge, and, underestimating my new strength, threw myself about a hundred feet in the air, so my body was over the wrong side of the cliff. Raising my left arm I launched the grapple hook and pulled myself back onto solid ground, landing with a roll. I stood and looked around. Torch wasn't here. I checked my scroll.

 _Will be late. White Fang's making it hard for my men to move._ the message from Torch said. I put it back in my pocket and looked around. This was certainly the more barren part of the school, as there was a single 5-foot wide path that lead to the school building, surrounded by green grass that made up the rest of the ground. The landing pad had two platforms, and a 50-foot diameter circle as an unloading area.

A few minutes later, two airships flew up and landed on the platforms. The doors opened on one, and Neo, Torch, and two of his bodyguards stepped out.

"G'day, mates." I said, walking up to him. It was night out. "Decided to make me hurry up and wait, I see."

"Well sorry that the White Fang is deciding to be a massive roadblock. After Cinder found out about my true allegiance, about twenty of them came after me." He said, taking out and lighting a cigar.

"Right mate. Now, 'bout the-" My scroll suddenly buzzed, far more intensely than usual. I took it out. "Damnit." I uttered.

"What now?" Torch said.

"Attack's begun. We need to move." On the screen, was a deep red rook, over a bright red background. The symbol that I'd found while doing some hacking into Cindy's stuff. "Get as many of your men that'll join ya, we mustn't let Beacon fall!" I turned and sprinted towards the main landing platform.

"Alright men," I heard Torch yell as I ran, his voice growing fainter, "You two, with me. The rest of you, follow Neo. Do not let the Grimm or White Fang take the Academy!" The airships took off, and as I approached the platforms, several White Fang airships reached the top of the cliff. I drew both of my guns and shot the pilots of two of them, sending them spiraling into the ground hundreds of feet below. The doors on the others opened, and Grimm jumped out.

"Shit." The creatures charged at me, and as they approached, I jumped fifty feet into the air, and let off the final ten shots from my guns, felling the beasts before landing back on a knee, facing the ground. Guns clicked from the direction of the edge of the cliff.

"Right, guns're a thing." I stood up and raised my hands. About a dozen Fangs stood, guns aimed at me. Adam stood in the middle of them.

"End of the line, Assassin." He said, crimson sword drawn.

"Ah, g'day jackass!" I mocked. He didn't like the joke.

"You've stood in the path of the White Fang for too long. Robbed us or our chance of revenge at every turn. Well, now the tables seem to be turned. With the Atlas Rite of Templars on our side, we will not lose this war!" I chuckled.

"Then let's go, mate." Guns clicked behind me, as Torch's Templars, with Neo at the lead, finally caught up. "The clash o' the baddies." I muttered, reloading my guns and taking my brass knuckles from my pocket.

The air stood still for the moments before the battle began. It was quite, peaceful. Quiet. The air was cool, and a breeze was passing by, letting the tails of my robes float in the air. Leaves fluttered past. In the distance, life went on as normal. Until the calm ended, and the war began again.

Shots cracked from the fang's guns, felling three Templars. The Templars returned fire, killing more fangs. Adam and I lept at each other, weapons brought back, ready to attack. His blade struck my brass knuckles, allowing me to parry it aside and get two quick jabs at his side. I rolled under a swipe of his blade and delivered a blow to his back, before drawing a revolver and fanning all six shots into him, breaking his aura. He stood, teeth gritted, and faced me, sword raised. I stood and holstered the gun, ejecting my hidden blade at the same time.

"Just die already!" He screamed and charged at me recklessly. I dodged to the side nd kicked him to the ground.

"Adam Taurus, by order of the Brotherhood of Assassins, you're sentenced to death." I walked up to him and raised my arm, ready to strike. He looked up at me, a crack going through the center of his mask. I kicked it aside, revealing his green eyes, filled with hate. The mask broke in two. He let out a chuckle.

"You may kill me, but the White fang, and my master, will live on. They will see your death." I prepared to make the kill.

"Get back, get back!" A templar yelled behind me. I looked up, and saw several grimm being forced out of airships. I retracted the blade and drew a gun, reloading it and backing up. There were nearly two dozen, and I heard more on the way. Several templars were holding their ground, trying to fend off the grimm, and most being killed doing so.

"Fall back, ya bleedin' idiots! Set up in the 'cademy!" I yelled, fanning the hammer at the grimm, before turning around and running towards the tower. After myself, Neo, and the remaining templars made it to the main campus, we took cover behind whatever we could find. Pillars, downed airships, whatever could stop a pistol round. I ducked behind one of the airships, drawing my other gun. I peeked over the wreckage, to see a familiar face walk off an airship, along with her lackeys.

"Cinder fuckin' Fall."


	10. The Beacon Shines

I holstered my pistols and drew my SMG, gunning down a few grimm that decided to charge us. The air smelt of vaporized dust and the stench of fresh death. The sky was dark with the stars, shattered moon, and airships to light it up. Steel, lead, and Dust flew through the air, killing huntsmen, Templar, Fang, and grimm alike. On either side of the courtyard, huntsmen and huntresses were engaged in combat with either grimm or Fang, with Templars backing them up. I lay in an airship wreckage, with several other Templar flanking both sides, and Neo deflecting bullets meant for me and her. I had lost track of Cinder among the mess that was the enemy line.

This fight was going downhill, fast.

No new huntsmen or Templar had arrived to reinforce us, and so long as the city was under attack, the Atlesian military wouldn't join.

We were alone.

Good thing I work best solo.

I switched the fire mode of the SMG to semi-auto and began sniping fangs that looked like they were of some importance. As the enemy leadership lessened, the fangs started to panic, having no one to give them orders. The Templars and huntsmen, seeing this, began advancing, pushing against the tide of grimm and fangs. The fangs fell back, to the landing platforms, many getting gunned down before they could reach it. The tide had turned. As the last of the fangs prepared to make a last stand on the platform, airships flew up and fired, disabling the fang's ships. One of the ships turned, and the side doors opened, revealing Torchwick and two Templars, ready to fire.

"The battle's over, friends!" He yelled, "Give up, or die!" The fangs looked at each other, before throwing down their guns and raising their hands. The Templars closed in and pushed them into the ships Torch brought. His own ship landed, and Neo and I ran up to meet him.

"Oi, Torchy!" I yelled as we approached. Torch just glared at me.

"How many time have I told you, _not_ to call me that?" He asked, stepping off the ship.

"Aw, where's the fun in that?" I teased. "Any more fangs?"

"Not that I can tell. My men, the military, and the huntsmen in the city are taking care of the last of them. I can see that you're making progress up here."

"Aye mate, we took plenty of casualties, but we 'eld our own." I looked back on the battlefield. Dead were everywhere. Templar medics that had just arrived with Torch were tending to the wounded. "Damn."

"Sir!" A Templar yelled, running from his position of watching over the city, "Incoming!" Torch, Neo and I ran to the clifface to see what was approaching.

"The fuck?" I muttered. It was a massive creature of grimm, flying straight towards us, at an unproportional speed to it's size.

"Everyone! Open fire on the grimm! Bring it down!" Every Templar began firing, and the gunships flew off to try to stop it.

"Out of the fryin' pan and into the fire." I muttered. As I prepared to get Ozzy, an Atlesian ship landed on the landing pad. The door opened, and Pyrrha ran out with several other huntsmen and huntresses. "Pyrry!" I yelled, running towards the newcomers.

"Gideon! What's going on!?" She yelled as I approached.

"Take a look." She and the blond boy behind her looked in the direction of the beast. "I 'sume Ozzy gave you the choice?" She looked at me, confused. "I know loads more than ya think, sis. Did he tell you?"

"Yes."

"And you said?"

"Yes."

"C'mon then."

"Wait," The boy behind her stopped us, "What's going on now?"

"You Jaune Arc?" I asked.

"How did you know?" He reached for his sword.

"Pyrry told me. Now c'mon, I'll need your help." Pyrrha and I started to run, and a few seconds later, I heard Jaune following. As we approached the tower, Ozpin was standing at the door.

"Hurry, come on in!" He yelled as we sprinted towards the door. We got inside, and stopped to catch our breath. "This way." He started towards the elevator, and the three of us followed.

"What's going on?" Jaune asked again.

"I'll tell ya, if we survive this." I said as we walked into the elevator. We went down to the Vault.

"Are you sure about this?" Ozpin asked Pyrrha. She nodded.

"If we can save Vale, then yes." Ozpin nodded as the elevator stopped. The door opened, and we walked into the Vault. After nearly a minute of straight walking, we reached Autumn.

"There she is." I said. "The Fall Maiden."

"Gideon, Jaune, will you two cover us? This may take some time." We nodded and turned, drawing our weapons. As Ozpin began telling Pyrrha what to do, my eyes flashed blue, activating my Eagle vision. A red figure was walking towards us. I gritted my teeth and aimed one of my revolvers.

"Get ready, mate." I pulled the hammer of the gun back. Jaune raised his shield, and prepared his sword. I squeezed the trigger as the sights passed over the figure's head, the tracer round speeding towards it's target. The figure deflected it, with a sword that formed in her hand in milliseconds. "Cinder." I said, readjusting my aim and firing again and again, each bullet being deflected. After emptying the cylinder, I reloaded and holstered my guns, taking out my brass knuckles instead.

"The Assassin, Gideon Nikos. How wonderful to meet you at last." She said, in somewhat of a mocking tone. Jaune looked at me, confused agan.

"Go fuck yourself, lady." I raised my fists and prepared to fight, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jaune do the same with his sword and shield. My exo-suit let out soft whines as I planted my feet, determined to stand my ground, or advance. My eyes flashed blue again, as I let the Eagle Vision fade away.

"Now," Cinder said, "Let me have the maiden, and I'll let Jaune and Pyrrha live?" The I could see Jaune hesitate, his and his girlfriend's lives for someone he didn't know. I didn't wait.

My strength and speed enhanced by the exo-suit, I lept at her, right arm brought back for a punch. She brought up her sword and blocked my attack, forming another sword in her left hand and slashing it at me. The tip of the blade nicked my upper arm as I attempted to dodge out of the way, following up with a quick jab and uppercut. She threw a fireball at me, and I slammed against the wall. I fell face first, and tried to get up when I felt the tip of a blade on the back of my neck. I turned my head and looked up. Cinder had one blade on my neck, and another brought up to slash my head off.

"Now, to finally put an end to the Assassins." I heard Pyrrha banging on the pod door and shouting. Ozpin's sole focus was the device. I closed my eyes, waiting for everything to finally end. As the blade came rushing down, the air around it whipping past it, I heard running in the direction of the pods. Just after it, two loud _clangs_ sounded just above my head. I opened my eyes.

Jaune was standing over me, shield blocking the blade that would have taken my head, and his own blade locked with hers. I didn't waste time standing up, repositioning myself for another bout of combat.

"Thanks mate." I said.

"I'd better get that explanation." he replied, pushing Cinder back. I chuckled as I walked up beside him.

"Almost ready, just hold her off a little longer." Ozpin said. Cinder's head snapped in the pods's direction and she smiled, the swords in her hand turning into a bow and arrow.

"Shit!" I sprinted at her, drawing a gun. She brought the bow to bear with inhuman speed, and before I could even get the shot off, let the arrow fly. As Autumn awoke, the arrow pierced her heart, killing her. I stopped in my tracks. Our only defense against Cinder, gone. She closed her eyes as her new surge of power filled her. I gritted my teeth and pulled off a quick shot, blasting her leg.

"Arrg!" She yelled, collapsing from the shot. I aimed at her head, but she threw a fireball at me, knocking me back. I landed on my feet this time. I ran to Pyrrha's pod and helped Jaune get her out. Ozpin walked between us and Cinder.

"You three go. Evacuate Beacon. Do what you can to keep Vale safe."

"But-" Pyrrha tried to interject.

"Go." We nodded and ran past the new Fall Maiden, still getting up from the bullet to the knee. As we got into the elevator, the fight between Cinder and Ozpin started.

He wouldn't win. Not with his age.

We arrived back at the first floor and ran out of the tower. I turned back and looked at the top, Ozpin's office.

"You heard what he said, we have to move!" Jaune yelled at me.

"You mates go on 'head. I've a megalomaniac to stop." I started walking back into the tower.

"Gideon!" Pyrrha ran up to me as I turned around. "What are you doing?"

"Someone's gotta stop that bitch, and it bloody won't be either 'o you."

"I can help you! We can stop her together!"

"You don't know how powerful she is. A huntress and an assassin ain't gonna cut it. Best I can do is delay her 'nough to allow you and the rest of the people to get back to the city." The determination in her eyes just continued to grow. I sighed, placing a hand on he shoulder. "Look, the people 'ave faith in you. You are their guardian. Do your job." I turned back and got on the elevator.

As I paced in the office, the battle down below had flared up again. That grimm beast spawned in more grimm, and had brought the battle back up. The huntsmen and Templar below were slowly getting overwhelmed. Inch by inch they were pushed back, towards the cliff. I wish I could be down there, in the thick of the fight, but I knew that I had a duty here too. To stop that bitch from getting into the vault.

The elevator opened, and none other than Cinder Fall walked out, a satisfied grin on her face.

"He's dead?" I asked, crossing my arms.

"Yes. It was a good fight, but as you know, old Ozpin just couldn't keep up." I sighed.

"Well, we both know what's goin' down now." I took out my brass knuckles and got into a closed stance.

"We do." Two swords formed in her hands, as before. For a few seconds, we stood, staring each other down. Ready for a fight.

I stuck first, jumping and getting a cross and hook off before having to dodge several attacks from her, which drove me to the desk. I jumped on the ledge and pushed off, one of the swords slashing my shin. Blood dripping, I landed with a roll and backed, the adrenaline numbing the pain from my leg. She charged and brought the swords to her right, swinging to hit me with both. I ducked and cross punched her in the side, before rolling away and standing up for another attack. As I faced her, a fireball slammed into my right arm.

"Ah, fuck!" I yelled, stumbling back as my left hand gripped the burnt flesh and cloth of my upper right arm. She didn't give me time to rest, as I jumped back, nearly getting cut in two by her blades. I let go of the burn and used my grapple hook to get to the other side of the room. The arm was hurt, but not enough to keep it down. I drew a pistol and fanned the hammer, all six rounds of which she deflected. She threw another fireball, which I jumped out of the way of, before having to roll under another swipe of her swords. I drew the SMG, which was promptly destroyed by an arrow. She knocked another arrow and aimed. Jumping, I drew a gun and fired off two shots, one destroyed her bow and arrow, and one slammed right into her chest. She fell to a knee, clutching her side, cringing at the pain. I landed and pocketed my brass knuckles, ejecting my hidden blade as I charged at her. Then, fire started to swirl around her.

"Oh shit!" I retracted the blade and ran as fast as I could toward a window, drawing and emptying one of my guns to weaken the glass. I rammed my shoulder into it, breaking it and falling a few feet before an explosion went off. Debris and shrapnel rained all around me, with quite a bit of glass slicing through my back. I winced as I turned myself around. The top of the tower was just, gone. I used my grapple hook to ascend back to the top of the tower. As Cinder began to rise, surrounded by swirling fire, and fire coming from her eyes, I landed with a roll, drawing my guns.

The _real_ fight had begun.

 _Meanwhile, at the landing pads._

Jaune and I reached the landing pad with the rest of team JNPR. Nora and Ren had joined us after we ran into five grimm. Ruby was fighting alongside Roman Torchwick, a sight I thought I'd never see. Ruby looked up.

"Pyrrha, Jaune, Nora Ren!" She ran up to us, reloading her gun."What's going on!?"

"I don't know." I said. "We need to get out of here. Is everyone of the ships?"

"Don't worry, my men have taken care of that!" Roman yelled, firing at several grimm that had fallen from the massive beast that now flew around the tower, just below Professor Ozpin's office. I squinted my eyes, and saw Gideon fighting the woman who killed the Fall Maiden.

"Gidon." I softly said, my eyes widening at the realization: he couldn't win with Jaune, so how could he hope to win alone? Roman sighed behind me.

"That fool's going to get himself killed one of these days. Now come on, we're getting out of here." I saw Gideon jump out of one of the windows, seconds before an explosion destroyed the top of the tower. He flew back up on top of the tower, out of sight. I clenched my fists.

"Go on, I'll catch up to you." I said, bolting back towards the tower. Gideon couldn't do it on his own.

"Pyrrha, wait!" Jaune yelled, chasing after me. I ignored him, focused only on getting to the top of the tower.

 _On the tower . . ._

I jumped and rolled out of the way of two more of Cinder's fireballs, before using my grapple hook to swing around the tower to dodge a pillar of fire that flew from her hand. Just as I was about to land, a fireball slammed into the ground in front of me, sending me into one of the few remaining pillars. I fell to the ground, on my hands and knees, and started coughing up a little blood.

"You fought well, Assassin." Cinder said, walking over to me. I looked up. She held a bow and arrow. I got up on a knee and tried to draw a gun. She quickly fired the arrow at my wrist.

"Arg, fuck!" I yelled, grabbing the arrow and pulling it out. It shattered and returned to her hand. She stopped about three feet away, knocking the arrow and aiming at my head.

"Now, time for your pathetic Brotherhood to finally end." Suddenly, the elevator doors, at least what was left of them, flew open, and Pyrrha jumped out letting out a war cry as she used her semblance to draw her weapons and attack Cinder. I used the split second she gave me to roll away, so the two could duel while I reloaded. As I speedily emptied and filled the cylinders of the guns, I thought about my next move. I holstered my guns and sprinted at her, getting low to sweep at her legs. She saw this, and let out a pillar of fire when I was ten feet away, while pinning down Pyrrha with a blade. I smirked and jumped at her, swinging my body around to deliver a roundhouse to the back of her head, before rolling on the other side of her, raising my fists. She jerked her head at me, pissed as all hell. As flames started to swirl around her, I turned and ran back, preparing to make a leap of faith. Pyrrha must've seen me, since when two pillars of fire flew from Cinder's hands, she was a few feet away from me, falling as well. I spun myself around, grabbed my sis by the arm, and launched my grapple hook, bringing us back up, rolling on the ground from the impact. She landed closer to Cinder, and was able to stand up much quicker and use her semblance to bring her weapons to her. Me? Well . . .

I tried to get up, but fell back on a knee. Sprained right ankle. I did my best to ignore the pain shooting through my leg, leaning on my left leg. As I turned my head to face the battle, a massive gear, once part of the tower, flew just over my head. Pyrrha then brought it back and threw it at Cinder again, hitting her. This fight had turned into something straight out of an anime, I swear. As metal and fire flew through the air, I took inventory of my gear. Blade, check. Knuckles, check. Revolvers, check. Bullets, one in each chamber, that's it.

"Fuck." I muttered, looking back at the fight. Pyrrha had managed to pin Cinder under a pile of metal, before an explosion knocked her down, and freed the new maiden. I took my guns and fired the last two shots, charging at her after holstering the twin revolvers. Jumping, I ejected my blade, before being knocked back by a kick to the gut. I grunted, rolling on the ground and stopping just before the edge. My breathing became ragged, and as I tried to get up, I heard a yell from Pyrrha, followed by her weapons dropping, and a body hitting the floor. I jerked my head up.

Pyrrha'd been knocked down, and as she tried to get back up, a black arrow struck her in the heart. Time seemed to stand still as she twitched, death slowly grasping her. I bolted over to her as she fell, catching her and holding her in my arms, one hand keeping her head up, the other around her lower torso.

"C'mon, stay with me, sis!" I nearly screamed, desperate to not let another person that I could've saved die. I pulled the arrow out and put a gauze on the wound, and a bandage to keep it in place. By the time I laid her down to deal with the threat at hand, she'd gone out cold. I took up her sword, called _Milo_ , and stood, ready to fight.

"Aw, desprate to save the last of your family?" Cinder mocked forming a fireball in her hand.

"Ya know, lass, ya made a mistake." I said coldly.

"And what would that be?" She asked, cocky as all hell.

"Giving me a proper weapon." I jumped at her, ready to bring the blade down on her head. She smirked and threw the fire at me, and I used my grapple hook to pull myself down, out of the way, before delivering three slashes to her torso, and a roundhouse kick to her head, knocking her down. As I landed, I reconfigured the weapon into the rifle mode and emptied the clip, breaking her aura. As she struggled to stand, I changed it to the spear mode and slashed out her leg, and she went down again with a scream. I switched the weapon back to the sword and ran over to Pyrrha, picking her up and running for the elevator. Somehow, she was still breathing, but very raggedly. She needed help, fast.

"No!" Cinder yelled, just before she reached out a hand and burned my back with a pillar of fire, shooting out from her hand. I screamed as I fell, landing on top of Pyrrha. As I made an attempt to get up, the pain from the massive burn shot through my body. I heard her stand up and start walking over, two weapons forming in her hands. "Before I kill you, you'll suffer for what you did to _me_." She said, and I heard the _swoosh_ of a blade, before feeling something bite into the area right under my shoulder.

"Ar-fuckin' shit!" I yelled, collapsing onto my severed, bloody arm. That sent me over the edge, as I passed out. My last sight was Pyrrha, dying beside me.

 **Yeah, sorry for not finishing this sooner. Decided to have this as one big chapter instead of two seperate ones (because I'm stubborn like that.) Next is the Epilogue, then the next part will be it's own story. Thanks for Reading!**

 **-The SteelNerfer**


	11. Brand New Day

I groaned as my consciousness came back to me. There was a dull pain in my lower torso, so I moved my right arm to hold it, only to find that it couldn't move. I opened my eyes, blinking as they adjusted to the white lights that flooded the room, and looked at my arm. It was gone, bloodied bandages at the point where it was severed off. I reached my left arm over and touched it, to feel nothing from what was left of it, thanks to what I assumed was anesthetic.

"The fuck happened?" I muttered, trying to remember what exactly happened. Last thing I knew before my memories faded, was that I was running with Pyr-

I sat up, slightly slowed due to the lack of my good arm, and looked around, wincing at the pain that shot through my body as I did so. I looked around. The room had several counters and cabinets, with medical supplies. There were several other beds where injured Templar laid, being attended to by medics and nurses and doctors. And to the left of my bed laid Pyrrha, hooked up to a life support system, breathing steadily. The machines blipped and whirred, making sure she got everything needed to keep her stable. I sighed, relieved that she had lived. I heard footsteps behind me.

"Gideon Nikos, correct?" The female voice asked.

"Who's askin'?" I replied, turning to her.

"I'm Anne Marina, I've been assigned to look after you while you heal." I held my lower torso with my left arm, turning the rest of my body around to face her.

"Where's Torch?"

"He, didn't make it." She cast her gaze downwards.

"What happened?"

"Yang, from RWBY, was fighting Adam Taurus, and was losing. Just as Adam was about to deliver the killing blow, Roman stepped in and blocked him, ordering Yang to get out of there. Th-"

"Thanks, lass, I can peice the story together." I said, letting out a sigh. "And Neo?"

"She's fine, physically at least. She saw Roman's death firsthand, so she's a bit shaken from that. No one's been able to get her to come out of her quarters."

"What 'bout the rest of teams RWBY and JNPR?"

"They're relatively fine. Of course they have injuries and wounds from the fight, but nothing as bad as, well, you or Pyrrha."

"How long 'till I can get outta 'ere?"

"Well, you need to let your body heal for a few days. Our mechanics are already working on a cybernetic arm to replace the one you lost. Do you need anything else?"

"Nah, lass. Thanks." I laid down and tried to get some more rest. As the days went on, I learned that Vale had been cleared of most Grimm, while the beasts had concentrated around Beacon, probably keeping anyone but Cinder from getting to the Vault. The battle had effectively ended when Ruby had accidentally used the power that whatever gene that caused the silver eyes had also granted her. Cinder disappeared, as well as Blake from team RWBY. Comms to anyone outside of Vale were down, so getting help from any possible surviving Assassins, or even the other Templar Rites, was out of the question. We were alone, stranded.

A few days passed, and my body had healed to nearly it's full strength, due to the Assassin gene, according to Anne. As I waited for the arm to be completed, I sat by Pyrrha's bedside.

"C'mon sis, you're strong. Not gonna let an arrow o' all things keep ya down, right?" As the machines pumped, whirred, and blipped, her eyelids twitched. I jerked my head to look at her face, as her eyes slowly fluttered open. She turned her head to look at me.

"G-gideon?" She muttered, muffled by the mask that was still pumping oxygen into her. I smiled.

"G'day, sis." She smiled. "How're you feelin'?"

"M-my chest, hurts." She turned her head slowly, looking around, widening her eyes when she saw me. "W-what happened to you?"

"Well, from what I remember and what I see now, when I tried to get you off the top o' the tower, Cindy must've chopped it right off."

"Oh, I-I'm sorry, Gideon. It's my fault then."

"Nah, don't be. I'd be dead if it weren't for you." I sighed. "Guess I rubbed off on ya, didn't I?"

"I guess you did."

"Oh, Ms. Nikos," Anne said walking up to us, "Good to see you're finally awake."

"The arm ready yet?" I asked her.

"Actually, that is what I was coming to tell you. It's ready, if you would follow me please."

I turned to Pyrrha. "Right, see ya in a bit."

"Don't be gone too long." She said. I chuckled before getting up and following Anne, to an operating room, with a matte grey cybernetic arm on a stand.

"Go on in, you'll be put to sleep for the operation."

"'Old up, lass." I stopped her. "Why're ya doin' this for me?"

"Because those were some of Torchwick's last orders, to help you in any way we could." I chuckled. "What's so funny?"

"Though he'd never admit it, he's a hero, ain't he."

"That he is. Now go on, don't keep the doctors waiting." I nodded and walked in. After lying down in the chair, a needle poked into my arm, and I passed out.

 _Days later . . ._

"C'mon, Rubes, think that'll work in a fight?" I taunted my sister, punching at her again and again.

"Come on, Yang, just give me a chance!" She pouted, bringing her fists up again.

"No way, if you get into a fight, they won't give you a chance."

"Aw, you're no fun." We continued sparring for a few more minutes, until Ruby looked over my shoulder.

"Pyrrha, Jaune!" She dashed past me, leaving a cloud of rose petals behind, and I turned around. Sure enough, Pyrrha and Jaune were caught in Ruby's hug. Behind them, stood a brown-haired, brown-eyed man, dressed in green robes, a silver pauldron over his left shoulder, and a red and brown cape attached to it. He walked up to Ruby.

"G'day, lass. How're you."

"Oh, hi there, Gideon?"

"Aye, lass. That's the name. 'Eard you save my and Pyrrhy's lives. Thanks for that."

"Heh, no problem. So, why are you here?"

"'Im." He said, pointing to Jaune. "Promised him an explaination after we got outta that whole mess, and you're gonna have a much bigger role than ya'd think, so might as well let you in on the secret too."

"What do you mean?" I asked, stepping forward.

"Yang Xiao Long, aye?" I nodded. He chuckled. "What's your favorite fairy tale?"

 **And that finally wraps up The War for Remnant: Book 1. There will be a second part, but I need to take a break from this story for now. There's another RWBY story idea that's been eating at my head, so I'll be writing that for a while. As always, thanks for reading!**

 **-The SteelNerfer**


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